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A by-law to appoint a Committee of Adjustment and to govern the proceedings of the Committee of Adjustment of the City of Clarence-Rockland.
Whereas the Council of the Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland has deemed it expedient to appoint a Committee of Adjustment, as provided for in Section 44(1) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended; and
Whereas Section 44(3) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended states that the members of the committee who are not members of a municipal council shall hold office for the term of the council that appointed them and the members of the committee who are members of a municipal council shall be appointed annually ; and
Whereas the Council of the Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland deems it advisable and expedient to establish a Committee of Adjustment; and
Whereas Section 238(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 (the “Municipal Act”), as amended, requires every municipality and local board to adopt a procedure by-law for governing the calling, place, proceedings and public notice of hearings; and
Whereas the Council of the Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland now deems it advisable to enact a by-law to govern the proceedings of the City of Clarence-Rockland’s Committee of Adjustment, the conduct of its Members and the calling of Meetings, and to provide for procedures and statutory requirements in accordance with the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended and the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P. 13, as amended,
Therefore the Council of the Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland enacts as follows:
Authority
1.1.The Committee of Adjustment for the Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland shall have statutory duties listed under Sections 44 and 45 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990 c.P. 13, as amended
Definitions
In this by-law:
2.1 Acting Chair means the Acting Chair appointed by the Members of the Committee of Adjustment.
2.2 Acting Secretary-Treasurer means the Acting Secretary-Treasurer of the Committee of Adjustment who is responsible for the duties of the Secretary-Treasurer in the absence of the Secretary-Treasurer.
2.3 Applicant means the person listed as the applicant on the application form, his/her authorized agent, or another individual whom they or the property owner has authorized to represent him/her to the Committee.
2.4 Chair means the Chair of the Committee of Adjustment appointed by the Members of the Committee of Adjustment.
2.5 Committee means a group of individuals appointed by Council to the City of Clarence-Rockland Committee of Adjustment.
2.6 Electronic Hearing means a hearing held by teleconference, audioconference, videoconference or some other form of electronic technology allowing the Committee, the Applicant or their representative, and every other person who desires to be heard in favour or against the application to hear or hear and see one another or their representatives throughout the hearing;
2.7 Hearing or Meeting means a gathering of the members of the Committee where quorum is achieved pursuant to its jurisdiction under the Planning Act;
2.8 Member means an individual appointed by Council to the Committee of Adjustment.
2.9 Planning Act means the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13;
2.10 Secretary-Treasurer means an employee of The Corporation of the City of Clarence-Rockland appointed by the Committee of Adjustment.
2.11 Vice Chair means the Vice Chair of the Committee of Adjustment who is appointed by members of the Committee to sit in place of the Chair during the absence of the Chair.
Application
3.1 The procedure contained in this By-law shall be observed in all proceedings of the Committee of Adjustment and shall be the procedures for the order and dispatch of business conducted by the Committee of Adjustment.
3.2 In the event of conflict between this by-law and the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended, the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13 as amended prevails.
Role of the Committee of Adjustment
4.1 The Committee of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial body, operating independently from Council, established under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended, to make decisions on minor variances, enlargements to legal non-conforming uses and new “contested” lot creations, as established under the Act.
Calling of Hearings
5.1 All hearings of the Committee of Adjustment shall be called by the Chair or the Secretary-Treasurer of the Committee of Adjustment and notice of any hearings shall be given in a manner that the Committee of Adjustment deems appropriate in accordance with the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P. 13, as amended; and in accordance with applicable regulations.
5.2 Meeting dates shall be posted on the City of Clarence-Rockland’s website.
5.3 In consultation with the Chair, the Secretary-Treasurer may cancel or reschedule a meeting. Notice is to be provided of the cancellation to all Committee members and notice is to be posted on the City’s website.
5.4 Any reference to a hearing within these Rules of Procedure may also include an electronic hearing.
5.5 Each hearing shall be held in the Council Chambers or virtually or as otherwise directed by Council or the Secretary-Treasurer.
5.6 The schedule of hearings for the upcoming year must be approved by the Committee by the end of the preceding year.
Appointment, Attendance and Quorum
6.1. The eligibility and general qualification of a member shall follow the Committee Appointments and Terms of References City Policy.
6.2. Members will be appointed for a period of 4 years, following the Municipal Council term, however Council members will be appointed annually.
6.3. The members will continue to serve until any of the following scenarios occur:
i. The Term expires;
ii. The appointment is revoked by Council following a recommendation by the Committee and/or the concerned department or because the member is absent for three consecutive meetings without being justified;
iii. The member resigns;
iv. The eligibility requirements are no longer being met;
v. The Board or Committee to which appointment was made is dissolved by Council.
6.4. Notwithstanding section 6.2 i., a member will continue to serve beyond his/her term, until the appointment of a successor
6.5. The appropriate staff will provide new members with an orientation package prior to the first meeting, which will generally include:
i. Previous meeting minutes;
ii. Committee of Adjustment Procedural By-law
iii. Committee Appointments and Terms of References Policy
6.6. Committee members will be required to attend a training workshop and will be invited to attend yearly OACA conferences and training.
6.7. The Committee of Adjustment shall consist of seven members which may include a maximum of four members of Council.
6.8. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee members, from among those appointed by Council By-law.
6.9. Council shall appoint a staff member to act as Secretary-Treasurer to serve the Committee of Adjustment and shall further support the Secretary-Treasurer delegating the authority to appoint an Acting Secretary-Treasurer if deemed necessary by the Secretary-Treasurer.
6.10. Where a Committee is composed of three members, two members shall constitute quorum and where a Committee is composed of more that three members, three members shall be deemed to constitute a quorum.
6.11.As soon as there is quorum after the time appointed for the start of the hearing, the Chair of the Committee of Adjustment shall call the hearing to order.
6.12. If no quorum is present fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for a hearing of the Committee, the Secretary-Treasurer shall record the names of the members present and the meeting will stand adjourned until the next appointed time.
6.13. If, during the course of a Meeting, quorum is lost, then the Chair may declare that the Meeting stands adjourned, to reconvene at such time and place as the Chair shall then determine, or cancel the balance of the Meeting if, in his opinion, it is not essential to deal with the balance of the agenda before the next Meeting.
Chair
7.1. The Chair shall be counted in determining a quorum and shall be entitled to all the rights of a member on the Committee, including voting.
7.2. When the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair will sit in the Chair’s place for the meeting or portion thereof.
7.3. When the Chair or Vice Chair are both absent, the Secretary-Treasurer shall call for the election of an Acting Chair for the meeting.
7.4. An Acting Chair shall be appointed for each meeting or portion thereof in the Chair’s and Vice Chair’s absence.
Duties/Rules of Conduct of Members
8.1. Duties of the Members:
i. To prepare for meetings, including reviewing the agenda and background information prior to the meeting;
ii. To deliberate on the business submitted to the Committee;
iii. To vote when a motion is put to a vote;
iv. To abide by the Committee’s decision once a decision is made;
v. To respect the Rules of Procedure;
8.2. No member shall:
i. Speak until he/she has addressed himself/herself and has been recognized by the Chair;
ii. Disturb another member, or the Committee itself, by any disorderly behaviour disconcerting to any member speaking;
iii. Use offensive words during the Committee meeting against the Committee or staff;
iv. Speak on any subject other that the subject in debate;
v. Disobey the rules of the Committee or a decision of the Chair, on questions of order or practice or upon the interpretation of the rules of procedure of the Meeting.
vi. Not leave their seat or make noise or disturbance while a vote is being taken or until the vote is declared.
8.3. Where a member has been called to order by the Chair for failing to observe provisions of subsection 6.1 and the member persists in any such disobedience after having been called to order by the Chair, the Chair may immediately order the member to leave the meeting for improper conduct, and if the member apologizes, the Chair may permit the member to retake his/her seat.
Notice
9.1. The notice of an application to be considered at a meeting shall be given in a manner that the Committee of Adjustment deems is appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act, and any regulations passed thereunder.
9.2. The Committee shall hold a public hearing on every application before a decision is made on the application.
Agenda
10.1. The Secretary-Treasurer, or their designate shall prepare and make available to the Committee a minimum of three days prior to the appointed day for holding a Hearing, an agenda for the Committee of Adjustment meeting.
Order of Proceedings
11.1. Agendas shall be generally formatted as follows but modifications to the matters to be included or the order of business may be made without requiring an amendment to this by-law:
i. Call to order
As soon as there is quorum after the hour set for the meeting, the Chair shall call the members to order.
ii. Adoption of the agenda
Amendment and/or additions to the proposed agenda may be permitted by the majority approval of the members present.
iii. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
It is at this point that any member of the Committee may disclose conflict of interest dealing with any item on the agenda or with a matter discussed at a previous meeting from which a member was absent.
iv. Approval of Previous Minutes
v. Hearings re: Consents
Every report shall be introduced with a resolution to adopt, defer or refuse the recommendations as presented
vi. Hearings re: Minor Variances
Every report shall be introduced with a resolution to adopt, defer or refuse the recommendations as presented.
vii. Hearings re: Previously Deferred Matters
Every report that was deferred at a previous meeting will be brought back with a resolution to adopt or refuse.
viii.Other Business
ix. Adjournment
11.2. Introduction of Applications
i. The Chair shall announce each application in the order in which it appears on the agenda, or at the Committee’s discretion
ii. If the application is uncontested and the committee does not require a presentation, the Chair will ask the Applicant if they wish to address the committee. The Applicant may then proceed with their presentation, if they wish.
iii. The Applicant will speak first and will be provided with a maximum ten minute time period to present the nature of the application to the Committee. Any presentations beyond the time period shall be at the discretion of the Chair and Committee.
iv. When the Applicant is not represented, the Planning Staff may present the application.
v. The Committee may ask questions of the applicant at this time, during or after the presentation.
vi. At any time, the Chair or Committee may ask the Secretary-Treasurer to:
- Read aloud all comments received from agencies who responded to the circulation of the notice of the application;
- Read aloud any letters received from persons expressing an interest in the application and;
- At the direction of the Chair, summarize the nature of the interest being expressed.
11.2.7 With respect to applications for Consent, the Chair may ask the Secretary-Treasurer to read aloud the proposed draft conditions to be attached to the decision should the Committee approve the application. The Committee may delete from, add to or revise the proposed draft conditions.
11.3 Public input and delegations
11.3.1 All delegations must address the Committee and an effort will be made to allow no more than two delegations at any one meeting.
11.3.2 Anyone desiring to address the Committee shall complete and submit to the Secretary-Treasurer, a delegation form accompanied with all supporting documentation at least one day prior to the Committee meeting.
11.3.3 The Chair will then call each request for delegation one by one.
11.3.4 An interested person shall confine his/her remarks to the subject application.
11.3.5 Any other public input after the Applicant’s Reply shall be at the discretion of the Hearing chair & Committee.
11.4 Applicant’s reply
11.4.1 Following the public input stage, the Committee shall give the Applicant the opportunity to respond to any comments received from commenting agencies or interested parties; and to provide a summary of the substance of the application.
11.4.2 The Chair and Committee may ask additional questions at this time.
11.4.3 Following the Applicant’s reply on applications for Minor Variance and Consents, the Committee shall consider the issues raised by the applicant, agent and any respondents and the evidence heard by the Committee. The Chair shall ask whether the members wish to conduct further discussions on the merits of the application.
Voting
12.1. When a motion on an application under consideration by the Committee is lost, a subsequent motion to take an alternate action on the application shall be the next order of business. Decisions on applications shall be for approval, refusal or deferral only.
12.2. No vote shall be taken during a meeting of the Committee by secret ballot or other form of secret vote.
12.3. After any motion is put by the Chair, no member shall speak to the motion, nor shall any other motion be made until after the result is declared, and the decision of the Chair as to whether the motion has been put, is conclusive.
12.4. Every member present at a meeting of the Committee, when a motion is put, shall vote.
12.5. Any member may abstain from voting, but the vote shall be recorded as a negative vote.
12.6. Unrecorded vote
i. The manner of determining the decision of the Committee on a motion is at the discretion of the Chair and may be by voice, show of hands, standing or otherwise.
12.7. Recorded vote
i. Any member, prior to or immediately subsequent to the taking of the vote, may require that the vote be recorded.
ii. When a member on any matter or motion requests a recorded vote, the Chair shall ask each member to announce his/her vote openly to be recorded in the minutes, starting with the member who has requested the recorded vote, with the Chair voting last.
iii. If a vote is to be recorded as herein provided, the Mayor shall announce the result, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall record them in the minutes.
12.8. Disputing vote
i. If a Member disagrees with the announcement of the Chair that a motion is carried or lost, the member may, but only immediately after the declaration of the Chair, object to the Chair’s decision and require a recorded vote to be taken.
12.9. Tie vote
i. A resolution on which the voting results are a tie shall be declared lost.
13. Decisions of the Committee of Adjustment
13.1.Decisions of the Committee must be based on the information presented to the Committee at the Hearing, therefore members should be present to hear all of the information given during the Hearing process.
13.2. Members should not discuss any application prior to the Hearing and any member who has publicly voiced an opinion regarding the development of the lands or its owners shall disqualify himself or herself from the Hearing and leave the meeting room
13.3. City Planners shall present its recommendation on the application.
13.4. Once a resolution on an application is read by the Chair, only members of the Committee (including the Chair) or the Secretary-Treasurer and Planning Staff can speak on the matter, unless otherwise permitted by the Committee
13.5. No decision of the Committee on an application is valid unless it is concurred in by the majority of the members of the Committee that heard the application. In addition, the decision of the Committee shall:
i. Be in writing, whether granting or refusing an application;
ii. Set out reasons for the decision (minor variance only);
iii. Contain a brief explanation of the effect, in any, that the written and oral submissions relating to the application made to the committee before its decisions or at the hearing, had on the decision; and
iv. Be signed by the members who concur in the decision (minor variance only).
v. A copy of the Committee’s written decision will be prepared and issued in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act.
vi. A copy of the Committee’s written decision shall be sent to any person that submitted a written request indicating that they wish to receive a copy of the written decision of the Committee and any further correspondence with respect to the Application pursuant to the provisions of the Planning Act.
Pecuniary Interest
14.1. At all times and under all circumstances, members shall be guided by and shall have regard to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
14.2. If a member has any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any matter in which the Committee is concerned and if he/she is present at a meeting at which the said matter is the subject of consideration, then he/she shall:
i. Disclose his/her interest and is required to file a written statement of the interest at the meeting or as soon as possible afterwards;
ii. Leave his/her seat and is required to leave the Chambers/Meeting room;
iii. Not take part in the consideration or discussion of the said matter;
iv. Not vote on any motion in regard to the said matter;
v. Not attempt in any way before, during and/or after the meeting to influence the voting on any such motion.
14.3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record the particulars of any disclosure of pecuniary interest made by members of the Committee, as the case may be, and any such record shall appear in the minutes of that particular meeting.
14.4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall establish and maintain a registry of statements and declarations of interests of members, and make it available for public inspection.
14.5. The failure of one or more members to comply with Section 14 hereof shall not affect the validity of the meeting in regards to the said matter.
Adjournment of a hearing – further notice
15.1. When a Hearing has been adjourned, any individual expressing an interest in the application shall be able to leave their name and address with the Secretary-Treasurer, and/or may submit a written request, should they wish to receive further Notice of the date of resuming the Hearing. The Notice may be given orally at the Hearing before it is adjourned to those persons present or may be by telephone or by electronic mail, if available.
Request for deferral or withdrawal
16.1. A request for adjournment/deferral of a matter on the scheduled hearing date by the Applicant must be made at the hearing. If granted, the Committee will set a new hearing date for the application at the hearing and indicate any other requirements or conditions of the adjournment/deferral, such as re-notification or amendment, at that time.
16.2. If a request for withdrawal/defferal of an application is made in writing prior to the commencement of the hearing, the Secretary-Treasurer shall make a record that the application has been withdrawn/deferred and shall immediately give notice to all property owners within 60 m of the subject lands that the application has been withdrawn/deffered. Where the Secretary-Treasurer has made a record that an application has been withdrawn, the Committee shall take no further action in respect of that application.
Minutes
17.1. Minutes shall be kept by the Secretary-Treasurer and shall record, in both official languages (English and French), with the English version being considered the official version, the following:
i. The place, date and time of the meeting;
ii. The names of the presiding Chair, Members and staff in attendance
iii. The late arrivals and early departures of members;
iv. The readings, if requested, correction and adoption of the minutes of prior meetings;
v. Declaration of conflict of interest
vi. All the resolutions, decisions, and other proceedings of the meeting without note or comment except the reasons for decisions.
vii. A brief summation of all submissions made at the Hearing.
17.2. Once adopted, the minutes shall be signed by the Chair and the Secretarty-Treasurer.
Remuneration
18.1. The members can be reimbursed for their traveling expenses during duties as a member of the committee upon presentation of authorized statements of expenses.
18.2. The committee members, except members of Council, are remunerated for their duties as follows:
i. Chair:60$/application
ii. Members:50$/application
18.3. Only those members of the Committee of Adjustment attending a meeting shall be remunerated.
18.4. In the absence of the Chair, the member that assume the duties of the Chair shall be remunerated accordingly and for that meeting .
Repeal
19.1. By-law – previous
i. By-law 2011-33 is hereby repealed.
- Effective Date
20.1 This By-law shall come into force and effect on September 7, 2022
Read and passed in open council, this 7th day of September 2022.
Mario Zanth, Mayor
Monique Ouellet, Clerk
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